Will you behave yourself if no one's watching? The psalmist doens't think so. Psalm 53, ascribed to David, puts it bluntly. Fools say there is no God and so they do whatever they want. Atheism and anarchy in the view of David will lead to abominable acts. Atheists and anarchist, of course, will disagreed because they see the perversity of power and terrible acts committed in the name of faith. But the biblical view is simple. When people aren't held accountable both now and in eternity, they will do whatever they want to advance their own agendas.
Atheism equals foolishness. Sooner or later, though God will rain down judgment.
It's easy to throw stones at atheism. I was on a pastor's retreat recently and I was introduced to a different term -- functional atheism. That's living our lives as though God didn't exist. And the greatest practitioners? Why Christians, of course. We claim we believe in God, but we go through the motions of our day as though God didn't exist. God will excuse me for being rude, inconsiderate, short tempered, and selfish. Maybe the psalmist saw some of that in his own day and that is why he lamented that there was no one who did good. If those who claim faith act as if there is no faith, then what will become of the world?
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